Alcoholism is the rising concern affecting people all across the globe. Although there are numerous rehabilitation centers, none of them are very much effective in completely eradicating alcohol out of people’s lives. As a result, the scientists since a long time have been looking out for a solution to this problem. It, now appears that they have found the potential solution to this problem by finding out the circuit that controls cravings.
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The scientists at Scripps Research Center have figured out the brain circuit responsible for inducing this craving. Now, they will be able to reverse the effect of craving. The study was conducted on the alcohol-dependent rats. In the study, they have found potential gene therapy for controlling excessive alcoholic addiction. The team of scientists conducted a laser treatment to inactivate the neurons. This helped them in reversing the effect and also assured better symptoms of withdrawal.
Brain Circuit – Alcohol Cravings
Oliver George, Associate Professor of Scripps Research Center, said, “This discovery is exciting. It means we have another piece of the puzzle to explain the neural mechanism driving alcohol consumption.
As of for now, the test has been conducted only for rats, and there are chances that it may lead the way to control alcohol addiction in humans as well. This will be one of the major contributions to gene therapy.
The test was conducted based on the corticotropin-releasing factors neurons. The study also showed that the ensemble neurons controlled major part of it. The neurons showed that initially, they refused from drinking. Once the neurons are inactivated, the rats do not drink. Switching off the neurons also lead to a reduction in withdrawal symptoms.
